Mount Kailash

Mount Kailash (Tibetan: གངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་), meaning "precious jewel of snows", is located in Pulan County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet. It is the main peak of the Gangdise Mountains, with a latitude of 31° and a longitude of 81.3°. Mount Kailash is 6,656 meters above sea level, with a symmetrical snow peak shaped like a pyramid. It is 1,000 kilometers away from Lhasa, borders Zanda, Gar, and Gegye counties, and is adjacent to India and Nepal. Mount Kailash is recognized by the Bon, Tibetan Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism as the center of the world, and is known as Shambhala, where the gods gather. It is also known as the "summit of Ngari" and is recognized worldwide as a sacred mountain. There are two pilgrimage routes around Mount Kailash, the inner and outer routes, which are classic routes for hikers. Mount Kailash has been weathered and eroded over a long period of time. The waist of Mount Kailash is a large pale red platform. The edge of the platform has been severely eroded by ice and snow and is canine-shaped. Above the platform is a circle of ice troughs formed by the erosion of ice water. These huge vertical ice troughs and horizontal rock formations form the "swastika" pattern in Buddhism. There are two pilgrimage routes around Mount Kailash, the inner and outer routes. The inner route is centered on Mount Yintuo, which is located to the south of Mount Kailash. Mount Yintuo represents the leader of the sixteen sages, and the surrounding mountains and rivers symbolize the Arhats, Bodhi, Sravakas, and Pratyekabuddhas. The religious qualifications for the inner route are higher, and only those who have completed thirteen outer routes are eligible for the inner route.